Saturday recap: Dayton stuns Syracuse, Michigan State avoids upset

Dayton players celebrate in the closing seconds of their victory over Syracuse Saturday in the NCAA tournament. (AP)

No. 11 Dayton 55, No. 3 Syracuse 53

Dyshawn Pierre scored 14 points and Jordan Sibert hit a critical late 3-pointer as the Flyers secured their second upset in three days with a hard-fought NCAA tournament victory over the Orange in second-round action in Buffalo, N.Y.

Sibert tallied 10 points for No. 11 seed Dayton (25-10), which advances to meet either Kansas or Stanford in the South region semifinal in Memphis, Tenn. Devin Oliver added seven points, 10 rebounds and four assists as the Flyers followed up Thursday's 60-59 win over sixth-seeded Ohio State with another thrilling victory.

Tyler Ennis scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half for third-seeded Syracuse (28-6), which went 3-6 over its final nine games after starting the season with 25 straight victories. C.J. Fair finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks as the Orange went 0-of-10 from beyond the arc – its first game without a 3-pointer since 1994.

Syracuse and Dayton combined to shoot 32.6 percent and score 38 points during a sluggish first half that featured one 3-pointer and poor free throw shooting. The Flyers led 35-30 with 11 1/2 minutes to go following a 3-pointer by Sibert, but a pair of jumpers from Fair sparked a 10-2 surge that gave the Orange only their second lead of the contest.

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Following a 10-2 run by Dayton, Ennis rallied Syracuse within 47-46 with a pair of layups, but a steal by Oliver near midcourt led to a breakaway layup by Scoochie Smith and Sibert drilled a 25-foot 3-pointer with 47.7 seconds left as the shot clock was winding down. Ennis converted a three-point play on the other end and scored the Orange's final 11 points, but his potential go-ahead 3-point attempt hit off the back iron as time expired.

The loss made Jim Boeheim the first coach in NCAA tournament history to lose six games to double-digit seeds.

No. 7 seed UConn beat second-seeded Villanova 77-65 on Saturday night in an East Region matchup in Buffalo, N.Y. The Huskies advance to the Sweet 16 next week at Madison Square Garden where they will face either North Carolina or Iowa State.

Branden Dawson scored a career-high 26 points and recorded nine rebounds as the Spartans blew a 16-point lead in the second half before turning back the Crimson in the third round of the NCAA tournament Midwest regional in Spokane, Wash.

Gary Harris recorded 18 points, five assists and four steals for fourth-seed Michigan State (28-8), which meets No. 1 seed Virginia or No. 8 Memphis on Friday in the Sweet 16. Adreian Payne followed up his career-high 41-point effort against Delaware with 12 while Denzel Valentine added six points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Wesley Saunders scored 22 points for No.12 seed Harvard (27-5), which took its first lead with 7:11 to play on Laurent Rivard's 3-pointer for the Crimson, who had their nine-game winning streak snapped. Steve Moundou-Missi contributed 11 points and 11 rebounds while Brandyn Curry added 12 points and six boards.

Michigan State led 52-36 with 15:43 left before a 19-3 run – capped by Saunders' steal under the basket and dunk – tied it at 55. The Spartans answered Rivard's bucket with an 11-1 spurt – sparked by Travis Trice's 3-pointer and capped by consecutive treys by Harris and Valentine – to take a 71-63 lead with 4:02 left.

Harvard cut the deficit to four on Siyani Chambers' bucket with 1:36 remaining and had a chance to get within one possession, but Keith Appling stole the ball from Chambers with 43 seconds to play. Michigan State went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 41.1 seconds to seal it and deny Harvard its first trip to the Sweet 16.

Frank Kaminsky scored 19 points to lead five players in double figures and the Badgers rallied from a 12-point halftime deficit to edge the Ducks in the NCAA tournament West regional in Milwaukee.

Traevon Jackson collected 16 points and eight rebounds and Josh Gasser added 13 points for No. 2 seed Wisconsin (28-7), which closed the game on a 13-5 run and will face third-seeded Creighton or No. 6 seed Baylor on Thursday in Anaheim. Ben Brust scored 12 points on four 3-pointers to help the Badgers advance to the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 for the third time in the last four years.

Joseph Young led No. 7 seed Oregon (24-10) with 29 points, including four 3-pointers, and Jason Calliste made all 11 of his free throws and finished with 20 points off the bench. Mike Moser added 12 points for the Ducks, who lost despite shooting 49 percent from the field and 21-of-23 from the foul line.

Nik Stauskas had 17 points and eight assists as the Wolverines held off the Longhorns' rally in the third round of the NCAA tournament in Midwest regional play in Milwaukee.

Jordan Morgan added 15 points, 10 rebounds and two steals for second-seeded Michigan (27-8), which will play No. 11 seed Tennessee or No. 14 Mercer in the Sweet 16 in Indianapolis on Friday. Glenn Robinson III and Caris LeVert each added 14 points for the Wolverines, who hit a team tournament record 14 3-pointers.

The Wolverines hit 6-of-9 3-pointers – including two from Stauskas and Zak Irvin – during a 29-8 run that gave the Wolverines a 32-14 lead with just over five minutes left in the first half. Derrick Walton Jr. added two more 3s to open the second half and Michigan had an 18-point lead before Taylor capped an 8-0 run with back-to-back baskets to get the Longhorns within 53-43 with just over 12 minutes left.

Taylor's jumper after a Michigan turnover four minutes later got Texas within 58-52 but Robinson III answered with a layup and a 3-pointer for a 63-52 advantage with just under seven minutes left. Texas never got closer than eight and LeVert added a late 3-pointer before Michigan closed the win by hitting 8-of-10 free throws.

Xavier Thames had 30 points and six assists as the Aztecs knocked off the upstart Bison in NCAA tournament West regional play in Spokane, Wash.

Dwayne Polee II added 15 points and six rebounds off the bench as fourth-seeded San Diego State (31-4) advances to play either Arizona or Gonzaga in Thursday's Sweet 16 contest in Anaheim. Josh Davis grabbed 13 rebounds and the Aztecs held North Dakota State to one point over the final six-plus minutes.

Kory Brown scored 13 points for the 12th-seeded Bison (26-7). Leading scorer Taylor Braun had just seven points on 2-of-14 shooting and North Dakota State shot just 31.3 percent from the field.

The Bison trailed by eight with under five minutes left before Thames scored back-to-back hoops to boost San Diego State's lead to 55-43 with 3:21 to go. North Dakota State went more than five minutes without a point as the Aztecs added eight free throws to increase the margin to 20 with 40.9 seconds remaining.

Thames scored 16 first-half points and the Aztecs closed with a 15-3 burst to take a 30-23 halftime lead. San Diego State stretched the lead to 10 early in the second half before the Bison crept within five on a three-point play by Marshall Bjorklund with 15:37 remaining.

Scottie Wilbekin scored 21 points as the Gators advanced to the NCAA tournament Sweet 16 for the fourth consecutive year with a win against the Panthers at the South region in Orlando, Fla.

Michael Frazier II was the only other player for top-seeded Florida (34-2) to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points. Will Yeguete and Casey Prather added eight points apiece for the Gators, who will play fourth-seeded UCLA or No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin next weekend in Memphis.

Talib Zanna was the only player in double digits for ninth-seeded Pittsburgh (26-10), finishing with 10 points. Lamar Patterson, who came in averaging 17.4 points, finished with eight, as did reserve Josh Newkirk.

Pittsburgh briefly led early in the game, taking its last lead at 15-13 on a layup by Jamel Artis with just over nine minutes left in the half. The Panthers then hit their first dry spell, going about 6 1/2 minutes without a point as Florida moved ahead 20-15.

Wilbekin sank a 3-pointer at the first-half buzzer to match Florida's biggest lead to that point at 27-22. Zanna scored a second-chance layup on the opening possession of the second half to trim the deficit to three, but the Panthers didn't score again for more the six minutes, allowing Florida to race out to a 34-24 lead.

Luke Hancock scored 21 points to propel the Cardinals in a Midwest regional third-round game in Orlando, Fla.

Chris Jones pitched in with 11 points while Montrezl Harrell contributed 10 points and 11 boards for the fourth-ranked Cardinals (31-5), who will face No. 1 Wichita State or No. 8 Kentucky in the Sweet 16 on Friday. All-American candidate Russ Smith fought his way to 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting and also committed seven of Louisville's 19 turnovers.

Fifth-seeded Saint Louis (27-7) struggled offensively for most of the afternoon, finishing at 39.6 percent from the field, including a woeful 0-of-15 from 3-point range. Three of the Billikens' five senior starters scored in double figures, led by Dwayne Evans (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Jordair Jett (15 points, seven assists).

A hideous first half in which the teams combined for 35 percent shooting and 21 turnovers ended with Louisville ahead 25-16. Saint Louis came out of the locker room with a burst, however, and surged ahead 29-27 on Rob Loe's layup with 14:17 remaining.

The Cardinals regrouped and their lead stood at 35-33 when Hancock hit back-to-back 3-pointers to create a six-point edge and Jones' 3-pointer with less than eight minutes left pushed the advantage to 46-37 as part of a 9-0 run. The Billikens got within 53-44 on Loe's dunk near the three-minute mark before a layup by Harrell, a dunk by Wayne Blackshear and two foul shots by Jones clinched the win.

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